


The Cell At The Corner

by Psyga315



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Episode: s03e14-15 The Boiling Rock, Gen, He's Not Dead... Yet, Not A Fix-It, Prompt Fic, Short Story, Sprinkleprompts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:41:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25234858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Psyga315/pseuds/Psyga315
Summary: Sokka was planning a prison break. At first, he wanted to just get his father and Suki out, but he soon saw an old face he thought was long dead and wanted to break him out too...
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	The Cell At The Corner

It was kinda hard for Sokka to keep up appearances at the Boiling Rock. Between nearly getting ousted as an imposter, struggling to find the time to talk to Zuko, Suki, and his father covertly, and figuring out a plan to break out of the prison, it was kinda hard to pull a prison break, even _with_ the notion that he came here with no plans.

He went to a corner to process everything, the weight of his helmet being too heavy for him to have on his head. He pulled it off and left it on the ground. By this point, the guards already know his face and, with some quick thinking from his newly made partner in crime, he didn’t need to worry about guards seeing him.

“Wait… Sokka… is that you?” People who knew who he was _before_ , however?

“Huh? Who’s-” Sokka looked and saw that he took off his helmet in front of a prison cell tucked away at a corner. The face was obscured by the bars, prompting Sokka to wonder who he was. He was already biting off more than he can chew by involving Chit Sang into his escape plan, but… maybe it was another prisoner he couldn’t bear to leave behind. He opened the door and promptly closed it. Once he did and saw the person, his jaw slightly dropped.

“Long time, no see, huh?” Sokka recognized the brown-haired man, but more importantly, the roguish smirk he had on his face and the blade of grass in his mouth.

“Jet?” Sokka didn’t recognize the voice at first, since it sounded husky, but once he saw that face, he knew who he was. “B-but I thought you-”

“Thought so too. When I came too, however, I found myself locked up here. Guess the injuries weren’t enough to take me out…” Jet had a very half-hearted chuckle before he coughed. Sokka could see that his hair, once bushy and full, now had bits of scalp and looked frail. Jet also lost a ton of weight, more so than what Sokka would expect out of someone with a prison diet. Though, the thing that Sokka actually _feel_ something for a person he disliked was noticing the red splotch of blood on the hand Jet used to cover his mouth.

“Jet, we’re planning a break out. You can get out of this hole with us!” Sokka said to Jet. He gave another raspy chuckle.

“No… I can’t…” Jet said.

“W-why not!? Don’t you want to leave this place? You despise the Fire Nation, yet you insist on staying here?” Before Sokka can ask more questions, Jet took off his shirt. Sokka could see that he had little to no fat on his body, almost even seeing the bones on Jet’s ribs. He even saw a large dent dead center on his chest.

“That blow really did something… I can’t breathe properly…” Jet coughed a little more, unable to contain the blood that erupted from the back of his throat. “Don’t you see? I’m… not in a position to fight anymore… No amount of healing can bring me back from the brink.”

“Jet…” Sokka was at a loss for words… Before, he found him to be a dangerous and reckless man, but now, he’s a shell of his former self.

“I’ll only drag you behind… Rescue someone who _can_ help defeat the Fire Nation.” Jet said.

“… Don’t worry. I am…” Sokka resisted crying, not because of the sudden pity he had, but because he didn’t want any guards to see that he shed tears for a prisoner. “If… you’re sure about this…”

“I am… Go.” Jet told Sokka. He proceeded to leave, only for Jet to weakly hold his hand. “Please… Don’t tell Katara and the others that you saw me… It’s better for them to think I’m dead than… Well… This.”

“… Ok.” Sokka’s departing words to him were as soft and quiet as Jet’s voice. He put on his helmet and exited the cell. Jet gave a smile before a few more coughing fits left him to sit at the corner. Huddling helped curb the pain in his chest…

* * *

When the cell doors opened, Jet was the only person not to leave. A guard was curious and entered the cell. He saw Jet in the corner, eyes shut with a small smile and the blade of grass on the ground, just a few inches from his lips. After checking Jet’s pulse, the guard sighed and told another guard that was passing by to alert him of a dead body.

To this day, the guard had no idea why he smiled… Only Jet knew: The Fire Nation as he knew it was coming to an end and its retribution lied in the hands of Sokka and his friends.

**Author's Note:**

> First off, big thank you to Sprinkledcupcake for giving me this prompt. I took a little liberty, but seeing the words "Burning Rock" and "Prison" clicking together showed that there was no other idea but an Avatar fanfic set in the Boiling Rock.
> 
> Jet fulfills the "Fantasy Anti-Hero" prompt and, rather than full on reviving him or saying "he didn't die at Lake Laogai", instead I went half way and said that he _did_ survive, but only for a little while longer.


End file.
